Chinese people in Malawi

Last updated
Chinese people in Malawi
Regions with significant populations
Blantyre, Lilongwe, Zomba, Mzuzu
Related ethnic groups
Overseas Chinese

There is a small community of Chinese people in Malawi made up largely of entrepreneurs and merchants running an estimated 140 businesses across Malawi in 2012. [1]

Contents

History

The number of Chinese owned businesses, restaurants, and shops grew when Malawi embarked on official diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China in 2007. [2] Protests demanding a ban on Chinese merchants in the northern city of Karonga led by a local business woman in 2012 spread throughout the country. [3] The government in response passed a law with Chinese merchants in mind that prohibited foreign traders from operating in small towns and rural areas, limiting Chinese businesses to the 4 major cities of Blantyre, Lilongwe, Zomba, Mzuzu. [2]

Karonga Place in Northern Region, Malawi

Karonga is a township in the Karonga District in Northern Region of Malawi. Located on the western shore of Lake Nyasa, it was established as a slaving centre sometime before 1877. As of 2008 estimates, Karonga has a population of 42,555.

Blantyre Place in Southern Region, Malawi

Blantyre is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with an estimated 994,500 inhabitants as of 2018. It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, Lilongwe. It is the capital of the country's Southern Region as well as the Blantyre District.

Lilongwe Place in Central Region, Malawi

Lilongwe is the capital city of Malawi with a projected population of 1,227,100 for 2018. The city is located in the central region of Malawi, near the borders with Mozambique and Zambia, and it is an important economic and transportation hub for central Malawi. It is named after the Lilongwe River.

Anti-Chinese violence

A fear of ethnically directed violence is a part of life for Chinese business people with rumors often circulating of planned attacks against Chinese. [1] This unstable climate has caused Chinese business owners to withdraw from public life, staffing their shops with local employees while infrequently visiting to restock. [1] The Chinese community often seeks shelter in the capital of Lilongwe when rumors of attacks circulate. [1]

Local civil rights groups, Centre for Development of People and the Centre for Human Rights Rehabilitation, were critical of the ban on Chinese merchants, calling the law xenophobic and fearing it would encourage attacks on the Chinese. [3]

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References